St. Patrick Joins Efforts to Increase Community Awareness of Plight of Uninsured and Resources Available

March 23, 2009 at 6:48 PM CDT - Updated August 26 at 10:41 PM

CHRISTUS St. Patrick Hospital believes health care coverage matters

St. PatrickJoins Efforts to Increase Community Awareness of Plight of Uninsured and Resources Available

Lake Charles, LA 2009 - CHRISTUS St. Patrick Hospital has pledged to support and promote Cover the Uninsured Week, a nonpartisan, nationwide effort to urge U.S. leaders to make health coverage for Americans their top priority, scheduled to be held March 22-28, 2009. Now in its seventh year, Cover the Uninsured Week is a national effort to highlight the fact that too many Americans are living without health insurance and to demand solutions from our nation's leaders.

Forty-seven million Americans are uninsured. Nearly nine million of them are children. More than eight out of 10 are in working families. They are our friends, neighbors and colleagues--forced to gamble every day that they won't get sick or injured. Living without health insurance is a risk no one should have to take.

St. Patrick Hospital has an ongoing commitment to continue educating its patients and the community about the availability of public health coverage assistance programs, and how to get enrolled into these programs as well as providing information about local resources.

"Living without health coverage is a growing problem that touches so many of our working families, especially in this economic climate," said Sandra Semien, RN, CHRISTUS St. Patrick Hospital Director of Community Services. "That is why it is so important for CHRISTUS St. Patrick Hospital and our community to come together to demand that our lawmakers find solutions and ensure that American families are covered. We must send a message to our nation's leaders: an estimated 18,000 - 22,000 Americans die each year because they don't have health coverage, according to studies conducted by the Institute of Medicine and Urban Institute, and this is unacceptable."

There are a number of community events planned for Cover the Uninsured week, including free health screenings on March 23 and March 26, LaCHIP registrations at St. Patrick Hospital School Based Health Center sites, and a community breakfast on March 25. For a complete list of community events during Cover the Uninsured Week 2009, visit CHRISTUS St. Patrick Hospital's website at www.christusstpatrick.org for the calendar of events for the entire week.

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Cover the Uninsured Week

Led by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Cover the Uninsured Week is the nation's largest mobilization on behalf of America's 47 million uninsured. Since 2003, the Week has brought together business owners, educators, students, patients, hospital staff, physicians, nurses, faith leaders and their congregants, and many others to speak out on behalf of the uninsured. Eight out of 10 uninsured Americans are in working families. People who are uninsured live sicker lives and die younger than those with coverage. An estimated 18,000 - 22,000 Americans die each year because they don't have health coverage, according to studies conducted by the Institute of Medicine and the Urban Institute. Cover the Uninsured Week builds on a tremendous record of activity with nearly 1,500 local events held in 44 states and Washington, D.C. during the week in 2008.